1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for assessing visibility of an anchorage of a child restraint anchorage system of a vehicle.
2. Background Art
Motor vehicles may include a child restraint anchorage system. A child restraint anchorage system uses a plurality of anchorages to transfer loads from a child safety seat to the vehicle structure. Such anchorages may be located where they are partially concealed by or recessed from one or more surfaces of the vehicle, such as the exterior surfaces of a vehicle seat. Manufacturer, industry, or government standards, such as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 225 may require that an indicator mark be employed to conspicuously identify the location of an anchorage if it is not visible from a predetermined angle or position. Such indicator marks increase manufacturing costs. Consequently, it is desirable to accurately determine whether an anchorage is visible to avoid the unnecessary installation of an indicator mark.
Before applicant's invention, there was a need for an apparatus and a method for accurately assessing the visibility of an anchorage of a child restraint anchorage system. In addition, there was a need for an apparatus and a method that could be used with various child restraint anchorage designs and configurations. Moreover, there was the need for an apparatus that could be easily reconfigured to accommodate different anchorage positions and seat designs. In addition, there was the need for an apparatus that could assess anchorage visibility without altering adjacent vehicle surfaces or affecting anchorage visibility. Problems associated with the prior art as noted above and other problems are addressed by applicant's invention as summarized below.